How Facebook Could Help Save Your Child's Eyesight

Believe it or not, this isn't the first time it could happen.

UPDATED 1/6/2015: Tina Galloway reached out to WomansDay.com to reiterate that she visited Daleigh's pediatrician right away. Her Facebook post of her daughter's eye came after receiving the doctor's diagnosis, and the post was intended to help other parents, should their children exhibit similar symptoms.

By now, we are all aware of the benefits of Facebook; connecting with old friends, keeping up with family and staying up to date on the latest news all come to mind. But what about helping to save your child from losing his or her sight? Tina Schofield Galloway is writing to her Facebook friends to thank them for doing just that.

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"I am sharing this to make moms aware," she writes in a status with three photos attached. Tina explains that last month when her daughter Daleigh came home from school one day with a red eye, she mistook the condition for pink eye. After treating the eye with a cold cloth, a common practice for this type of infection, Tina was alarmed when Daleigh woke up the next day with her entire eye area red and swollen.

Seeking more input, Tina shared photos of Daleigh's eye on Facebook. Sure enough, a friend's daughter went through something similar just weeks before. Doctors diagnosed Daleigh with Periorbital Cellulitis, caused by a sinus infection the family was unaware she had. If it weren't for the Facebook tip, Tina says she probably would have "treated her at home a little longer with terrible consequences."

Though the incident may sound rare, this isn't the first time that social media has prevented a little girl from going blind. Just last month Tara Taylor posted a photo of her three-year-old daughter Rylee that caught the attention of some of her Facebook friends. A few concerned commenters noticed that one of Rylee's eyes was glowing. The tips led to her diagnosis with Coat's disease—a rare condition that causes vision loss in one eye. Luckily, thanks to a few observant friends, they caught the issue before it was too late.

Tina's status now has over 33K likes and over 100K shares. Grateful, she wants to remind others of the power of sharing, and that in some cases, "putting your business on Facebook" is the right thing to do.